Oh how I enjoyed this field trip. We all did. The cannons, the stories, the walking around. This was a great field trip that I would happily do again. Fort York is a great story about the people at the start of Canada as a country.

I have to admit, I took so many pictures here it's hard to choose which pictures to share with you all. :) When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly lady who gave the boys an activity/remembrance token for coming, she directed us to an information area and told us about a movie that they played.

We first took in the museum information area. There we saw the first stamps of Canada, the coins, learned about First Nation involvement, learned how both sides of the War of 1812 declared they were winners because neither side lost.

After this we took in the movie. It was played over three screens and was quite interesting, giving us lots of information. This led us to part three of the museum, a walk through history. I thought this section really well done.

This walk through history led us to the pathway that led to the restored Fort York. Some buildings were erected from stones found, others were built according to original specs. Almost all held artifacts, and each building had an introductory plaque at the entrance.

Isn't this tree magnificent?

The boys thought it would be fun to pose in the guard house.

Hmm.. let's see what else can I share with you?

We saw the stark difference between the enlisted men and the officers quarters. I found it quite amazing in fact...

enlisted men bunks and eating area.

Officers room and eating area.

Different buildings were dedicated to different pieces of information, from seeing how the officers and soldiers lived, to observing the placement of cannons, learning about the different weapons and uniforms, and bugle calls all had meaning as well.

One of the things that happened in the battle at Fort York was when they blew up the magazine, it killed so many of the attacking Americans, the devastation was so sudden. One of the last areas we visited walked us through the attack and blow up of the magazine. They couldn't let all that gunshot end up in enemy hands.

I appreciated reading the first hand reports of the men involved.

One of the last places we visited was the well. My son was so disappointed as the well didn't work. It was sealed off.

And check out this beautiful tree!!! Yes, the colours were changing and this tree was just so very lovely I couldn't pass it up

I hope you enjoyed this brief look at Fort York. There is so much yet I could show you but why would you have a reason to go visit it yourself? We did a self-guided tour and it was interesting and great exercise transversing the yards.